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Wed, 23 May 2018 05:24:26 +0000Michael D. Griffithshttps://mysticarchetypesblog.wordpress.com/go/uncategorized/dionysus-neutral-space/When life can become such a Race

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Wed, 23 May 2018 02:10:41 +0000modernoraclehttps://modern-oracle-tarot.com/go/announcements/double-rainbow/https://elanasworld.com/go/spirituality/coyote-medicine-in-my-backyard/
Tue, 22 May 2018 20:25:21 +0000elanamysticrosehttps://elanasworld.com/go/spirituality/coyote-medicine-in-my-backyard/I went to sleep with a question that was sitting heavy on my heart.

How do I study with the Jewish tradition, but keep my distance and remain as an individual without choosing community?

This is what I wrote on a piece of paper last night and left it on my desk.

In the morning I remember the teachings of my new spiritual teacher and Rabbi. One on one, she has been a breath of refreshing support, helping me to embrace my Mystic soul and not dismiss myself.

One of the suggestions is to become a part of a community with other like minded individuals.

The last few Fridays I have visited different synagogues and I came to a conclusion after observing a pattern there.

There is a human need to congregate and become a harmonious unit of belief. In my last 15 years of spiritual and religious studies, across the board there is a need to become a tribe of others who believe the same as you.

This idea of ‘belonging’ to a community created an issue of concern with who I have become.

I’ve spent the last 10 years in isolation in the forest, surrounded by trees, hawks, deer and passing clouds; my cabin has been my temple connecting me to Divine for some time now.

The beautiful thing about ‘belief’ is we can share an experience with others and feel affirmed and accepted for our understanding. When we are developing our spiritual muscle, it’s important to have a nourishing support system of sameness.

The challenging thing about ‘belief’ is we can sometimes lose the vital component of diversity of thought. I have sat in services off and on for a few months, and I have come to understand that we all begin to look and sound like each other. The mirroring of one another causes us to lose contrast of other people and other belief systems that are different from ours.

Although I deeply connect with the ancient Hebrew Creator, I am not able to be apart of any community at this time. I felt this understanding last night and I felt sad.

Many people seek out higher spirituality and I can only assume many seekers think spirituality is a blissful, angelic experience of harps playing and you reach the pinnacle of Godhood as the world becomes a happy experience of never ending nirvana.

This is not my case. I have died twice now, had my mind break countless of times and finally moved myself onto a mountain to connect with Creation and the Divine in my own way.

I feel I may let down my new spiritual teachers, but I finally understand that acceptance isn’t that important to me. Being in a classroom with monotonous linear learning, isn’t attractive to me.

Words on a paper or in a Torah are just a hint towards the unseen. I see the Hebrew letters making up creation, like glowing DNA codes moving through trees, walls, and clouds. The holy Hebrew letters make up the unseen architectural elements of everything in moving existence.

There is a moment where you question if you’re crossing the threshold of arrogance and grandiosity. But the humble ache of an achy back and knees, dishes needing washing and a cat needing to be fed, removes the fluff of self importance.

“Dear Creator, give me a sign.”

I prayed for a sign of my isolation. My truth of walking as a nomadic Mystic who often doesn’t see people for days or weeks, or even months. Perhaps from time to time I may visit a community to observe its place in the evolutionary scheme of things and be a witness to its journey. But ultimately my place is alone, being a Seer and moving my consciousness from tree to tree and cloud to cloud and praying for the human story, moving it towards peace.

It’s a challenge to not belong to a tribe, when you no longer require your fellow humans to constantly validate your existence. It’s a very lonely path.

I need a sign.

I woke up this morning and took my seat at my study desk. Outside my window, sat a lone coyote, hidden in the greens under the pine trees. It was sitting quietly, observing the deer, the people walking their dogs from afar. I saw it look at the birds, and smell the air.

It just sat for a long time and observed. It wasn’t hunting, or stalking anything, just assessing it’s environment for the information it was providing in that moment.

I took my camera out and quietly took a picture through my living room cabin window. It’s not great quality, but the image is there. It turned to look at me and locked its eyes with mine. A gaze ensued that put chills down my spine.

It finally got up and trotted away into the treeline of pines, disappearing like an apparition of mystery back into the forest of wonder.

What was the big message? Something prophetic, something that would shatter the world in deep quaking truth?

It was a smug experience of nothingness. It had no reason, no meaning, it just … was.

The answer was, no answer.

The coyote has long been a totem animal for the Native indigenous people here, a trickster spirit. The coyote carries some of the strongest medicine because its meaning is in the meaningless. It invites you to touch a truth, only to lead you down a rabbit hole where nothing is tangible, and you crack your ego and spin in circles. The coyote can’t be caught or found. Just when you think you have it, it laughs and trots away into an old understanding and disappears leaving chaos of all you thought you knew onto a drawing board; where you will have to begin again and forget all you thought you knew, because in reality you really know nothing.

Thank you Creator for this sign of destiny through the spirit of the coyote.

Any choice that is being pushed in a forceful manner needs to be questioned and looked at. It’s ok to let go of dogma and walk alone. It’s ok to become a part of a community and walk with a tribe.

For me at this moment, I am a nomadic Mystic living hermetically, a Gypsy, but am open to evolution. There is no right or wrong, just what is next for our journey.

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Mon, 21 May 2018 16:23:13 +0000Bryce Haymondhttps://thymindoman.com/go/philosophy/are-mystics-atheists/In an interview with John Gray about his book Seven Types of Atheism, this exchange took place:

[Questioner:] You finish with the mystical kind of atheism. It sounds almost like people who have a big drug experience and talk about the oneness of everything.

[Gray:] Well, it’s a radical kind of atheism that asserts that the nature of reality is ineffable—it can’t be embodied in words. Schopenhauer thought the ultimate reality of things was spiritual, but we couldn’t really grasp it with our reasoning. He didn’t have any need for a creator God, but actually, he isn’t so far from certain traditions in mysticism and different religions. Some types of mystical religion come close to atheism in their understanding of God as unimaginable.

What did he mean that some “mystical religion is close to atheism”? Aren’t mystics supposed to be people who find union with God, who become one with God? How could that possibly be “atheistic”? Here is my interpretation.

God cannot be thought of in any absolute sense. Any words that we use to describe God can only point to God, but aren’t God.

God is unimaginable because God must be experienced to be known. No amount of words will do it. Mystics and philosophers for centuries have tried to describe God, but all such descriptions fall short, and the wise know it. It is also the reason there are innumerable different descriptions of God. Each is trying to grasp that which is fundamentally beyond intellectual grasping, and they naturally use the symbols and knowledge from their own particular culture to grasp at it.

It is only through direct experience of God in one’s own Being that we can come to “know” anything absolute about God, but that absoluteness cannot be communicated. It cannot even be known in the experiencer, in the traditional sense, in terms of thoughts. It is a direct, real-time, present, transcendent experience. As soon as the experiencer tries to put words or even thoughts to that experience, they are translating and interpreting it, and it becomes something different than what it was, which was pure experience.

God is not an idea, concept, thought, word, image, or symbol. God is relational, experiential, being, presence, awareness, love, reality, and truth. And yet even these words fall short, because they only provoke preconceived ideas in our minds, but not the direct experience of them.

The apophatic approaches would say that anything that one says about God is not God at all. That God doesn’t exist, they say, and so they might be called “atheistic.” Those words are only symbols pointing to the real God. But symbols are not God. Only God is God.

This led the Christian mystic Meister Eckhart, for example, to exclaim, “I pray God to rid me of God.” All our preconceived ideas of God dissolve in the direct apprehension of that Ultimate Reality which we have given the linguistic label of “God.” In a very real sense, we must give up or surrender all our ideas of God to know God, for God surpasses all our mere intellectual ideas.

And yet those ideas find new application in our experience, profound truth and meaning. It’s not that those ideas are wrong so much as they are terribly incomplete and misleading without experience, often causing us to stop short and idolize the symbols of God rather than commune with God in reality.

Many mystics might be described as “atheists” of the Gods described by the religions, because they know God cannot be accurately described, ever, by anyone. They don’t believe in those Gods. No descriptions of God suffice to define what God is so that we may truly know God. We must experience God to “know” God.

From my own Mormon background, in Joseph Smith’s first ecstatic experience of God he recalled God saying:

…the world lieth in sin at this time and none doeth good no not one they have turned asside from the gospel and keep not <my> commandments they draw near to me with their lips while their hearts are far from me…

Smith realized that all religious doctrines that were being taught were wrong, they were incomplete, they were fallible, they were corrupt, they attempted to draw near to God with flowery and ornate words, but their hearts remained far from God. In that moment we could say that Smith became an “atheist” of all existent religious sects; he didn’t believe in them, or the God they described. The God he had experienced was not there.

Another example comes from Yogananda’s guru, Babaji, who had a vision of Jesus. It was a similar message:

My followers have forgotten the art of divine inner communion. Outwardly they do good works, but they have lost sight of the most important of my teachings, to seek the Kingdom of God first.

Babaji discovered that the way the religions approached the Divine had been corrupted, they had lost the experience of communion with God. Babaji became a kind of “atheist” or unbeliever of their descriptions and teachings of God, having lost sight of the most important thing—experience.

Unfortunately, what often happens is that mystics who have such experiences of God then begin to interpret and translate their own experiences of God, whose words then eventually become the de facto way that God is, rather than the experience, and the process repeats itself. Thus we see religions that branch throughout history into new religions, each trying to better describe God, and each failing to do so.

Click to see larger version.

The religions tend to worship their descriptions and images, like the Israelites worshiped the Golden Calf, while the mystics, sages, saints, and prophets commune with God directly. They know God far surpasses all such descriptions, and if one wants to know God, one must come into direct personal communion with God. All else is mythology, fallible, incomplete, symbolic, pointer, metaphor, etc. Those may be helpful guides, but they must be remembered that they are guides, and not the actual thing.

The wisest teachers help guide others to knowing God themselves through direct experience, because they know that nothing else can replace that direct personal first-hand knowing.

One of the greatest obstacles to knowing God is thinking one already knows God because of all of one’s “book” knowledge about God, all of the thoughts and ideas that fill one’s mind about God, all the things that have been said about God that one has learned from others. But until one experiences God directly, one does not know God. One only knows the symbols that have been used to try to point towards God, but one does not know God as God is. Knowing God is different than knowing about God.

The God that one thinks one knows almost certainly does not exist. Direct experience abolishes all such thoughts, all such knowledge, all such images and symbols, in the direct perception of that Absolute Truth which is forever beyond our intellectual grasp.

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Sun, 20 May 2018 11:34:03 +0000G Vijayeshwarhttps://nowexploring967439320.wordpress.com/go/uncategorized/namaskaram-a-yogic-posture/Namaskar or Namaskaram( a yogic posture) – Once a ubiquitous part of Indian culture, this gesture of bringing the palms together and bowing down is born of a profound understanding of the human system.

Namaskaram: sketching by G.Vijayeshwar

Why Ancient people often used it :
Human intellect is such, the moment it sees anything/anyone it possesses unwilling judgments.

When we see someone it is important to grasp them the way they are at the moment. How they were yesterday does not matter. So, the first thing is we join our hands and bow down. Once we bow down, our likes and dislikes become mild, not strong, because we recognize the source of creation within them. This is the intention of doing namaskaram. Perhaps we could assert that ancient people used this posture to distract their mind from making conscious or unconscious judgments on seeing others. It’s also called as yogic posture and has a great significance in yoga and Hinduism.
But unfortunately, we (modern intellects) made it a ritual without knowing it’s real meaning and science behind it.

I pray that I am able to relay this as simply as possible and that your heart would grasp what the Lord is saying to you. One night in December of last year, 2016, I had a vision. I don’t know if I should call it that. But what happened was this: I was in between consciousness and sleep. I was meditating on another vision I’d been given the previous year, one I was yet to decipher… when I heard these words loud and clear, spoken to me in plain English — it was a riddle. At the same time, it came as a thought; it said:

“The birth of a secret is the unveiling of ten thousand mysteries!!”

Hmmm. I won’t lie to you, I still do not have an interpretation for this vision, prophetic riddle or mystical occurrence. But here is why I am making reference to it.

My life is a myriad of what I’m about to speak to you about this morning, and in over 30 days now, I have witnessed close cascades of these bizarre occurrences unravelling in my life. It’s like watching a movie and at the same time watching the scenes play out in the natural through your daily life. Think about that a moment.

Okay, its weird I know but stay with me.

I have this culture of keeping a journal. I have stacks, and stacks of them! And from time to time when I go through them I experience the most explosive of moments— eureka moments, epiphanies, aha-moments, breakthroughs… I’m at a loss for words here. The fact is I am completely BLOWN AWAY!!!

Also, in these journals are prophecies, dreams, visions, that have come to me in various forms. And from time to time as I go through my journals (led explicitly by the Holy Spirit; story for another day), I see fragments and pieces of these records of prophecies, dreams and visions etc. piecing themselves together in my daily life in sometimes very bizarre occurrences but mostly through almost insignificant events.

When these things happen, I realise how every single moment of my life is either a letter, a word, a verse or even a punctuation out of the volume of the books God has written of me to live by.

Was that too much to chew?

Well, what I mean is: God is in the pages of our lives writing out His eternal thought, purpose and plan through our daily experiences. And every moment counts!!! Question is, are you paying close attention?

Habakuk 2:2-3

And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tablets, so that he may run that reads it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false: though it lingers, wait for it; it will certainly come, and will not delay.

The world is full of talented, amazing people. We pass them in the grocery store. We hear them singing in the car next to us at a stop light on a summer day. We read their beautiful prose on blogs. We view their stunning photography on Instagram posts. We listen to theirpodcasts that team with artistry and information. And sometimes, when we are really lucky, we get to see them create their art in action.

Kat O’Reilly and I had just such good fortune when we dropped in on a filming session of the silent movie, Silent Times, being filmed in Mystic, Connecticut. Christopher Annino invited us to not only watch but also to participate in the film if we so desired. We opted to witness the magic rather than be part of the action.

In the midst of the mayhem of a film set, Christopher greeted us with an ebullient welcome and provided introductions as if we were visiting Hollywood film producers (our few boxes of donut holes certainly didn’t qualify us to receive that sort of welcome). There were jugglers juggling, flappers dancing, gypsies conjuring, pianists tinkling, and Christopher filming.

Silent Times in Mystic May 25th

It was absolutely delightful. Kat and I stole about, watching, marveling, and trying to stay out of the way. It was equally impressive that everyone was very kind to us as we awkwardly meandered around.

Fast forward several monthsChristopher Annino and Tag Team Friendship Productions LLC of Mystic, Connecticut is now holding a world preview of the Silent Times film at the Mystic & Noank Library on May 25, 2018 at 6 pm. It’s open to the public; there is a suggested donation of $5 at the door. All proceeds will go to the Andrea Tegan Post Memorial Fund, which was created to help artists who are struggling financially. There will be an after party at the Jealous Monk 27 Coogan Boulevard Building #20.

If you’d like to learn more about Silent Times please read the details of the film from their press release:

Directed by Christopher Annino, “Silent Times” is a Roaring-Twenties escapade set in a fictional New England town. The story centers on Oliver Henry III (played by Westerly native Geoff Blanchette), a small-time crook turned vaudeville theater owner. From humble beginnings in England, he immigrates to America in search of happiness and fast cash. He becomes acquainted with people from all walks of life, from burlesque performers, mimes, hobos to classy flapper girls. As his fortunes rise his life spins out of control. The film is a loving homage to the silent films of the 1920s and 30s, and features a wide cast of characters based on archetypes and personalities common in those films, such as Charlie Chaplin, Emmett Kelly, Annie Oakley, Buster Keaton, Keystone Cops, Gypsy Rose Lee and many more. Much of the written comedy was inspired by Benny Hill, Mr. Bean, and Monty Python. Notably, it is the first silent feature film of its kind in 80 years. Shot in black and white the film speed was also sped up to match with 1920’s film speed. The film features local talent drawn from Groton, Hartford, New London, Stonington, New Haven, and Westerly, RI. Some of the local talent who starred in the film were David Blair, Bill McNally (Essex Steam Train Conductor), Enzio Marchello (Clown), Brian Olsen, Kim Laabs, Kristina Joyce Utt, Joel Melendez (acrobat), Tyquan Anderson from (CT Sun Dance team Solar Power), Row Dasilva (Sister Funk), (former Ms. Fabulous Ct) Melody Lucas, Elena Bright, Veronica Convery, Anna Convery, Dexter Herron (Retired Groton Town Police).Celebrities such as WWE Legend Brian Blair, Olga Kurkulina star of “Kick Ass 2,” Queen of the Paranormal” Kadrolsha Ona Carole, Sunny The California Girl from G.L.O.W. , (Patricia Summerland), Ric Silver the creator of the “Electric Slide” dance, comedian/ magician Skip Daniels, and WWE Legend Ron Bass appear in the film. The film is produced by international award winning film maker Biju Viswanath.
Director and Co-Writer Christopher Annino, is a graduate of Mitchell College in New London, Connecticut and won best community outreach award at the 2017 ICONIC film festival for his film “Trans Rights are Human Rights.”
Co-Writer Geoff Blanchette is a graduate of The University of Rhode Island and Co-directed “Waves” with Annino which won Best Romantic Drama at 2017 The Avalonia Film Festival.

We hope that you’ll attend the preview of Silent Times on May 25th. We saw it being filmed; the scenes were like the beginning pieces of a puzzle, and even without the larger context, it still appeared enchanting. I can fully appreciate how wonderful the finished whole will be. My guess is that there will be no words to describe the film (get it?).

This part of the USA, New England, made up of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, is getting very pricey and I am trying to work the logistics to visit 3 states without stopping to sleep anywhere. It is also cold and wet and making me want to stay indoors.

So this evening I went to the Mohegan Sun Casino which is operated by the Mohegan Tribe. It is very impressive. I almost didn’t go after the mediocre casinos of Atlantic City. It is one of the largest casinos in the USA and has FREE parking for 13,000 cars.

I had some delicious Italian Wedding soup for dinner. There was an excellent free concert by Ben Gallaher.

I then went to the late Comedy Club show for $US10. They were amateurs but quite good. I recommend a night here. They have top quality entertainment and I will miss out on FloRida, Josh Groban and Keith Urban . This was a great night.

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Thu, 17 May 2018 20:20:49 +0000Michael D. Griffithshttps://mysticarchetypesblog.wordpress.com/go/uncategorized/hecate-invent/We remove ourselves from the Path of the Twisted and Bent

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Wed, 16 May 2018 05:30:20 +0000RNGhttps://itownpogo.wordpress.com/go/team-alpha/eleventh-hour/Making money in Pokemon GO is more difficult than it is in the real world.

Not that anyone is showing any concern but I’ve been quiet on the PoGO front until recently. Normally, the story goes almost chronologically but as of late, I haven’t played much until the advent of Latios. I have nothing against Latias, but once I got what I sought — with a weather boost to boot! — I have done little in the game.

He has helped me reach a new level — literally.

However, once the game allowed more gym points and double EXP for gym and raid battles, I pounced on the game and powered my way to Level 39, so… Congrats to me? Also, went on a Latios spree for four days, going 24 for 30, and “settled” for a 93%, 15-attack one, since no other Latios even went north of 2047 CP. (Also spent a good chunk of time shiny-hunting for Makuhita and Meditite. Got one of each, and two 100% Meditite on back-to-back days. Not too shabby.) I think that pretty much means I’m going to slow down with PoGO for the rest of the month, save for the coming Adventure event and the Charmander Community Day.

Gyms… so yeah, Team Alpha possesses most of the gyms in I-Town. That much has been made clear and made an objective by Syn and his Syndicates. (Also, after having recent conversations with Cam and Tails, there really is a Syndicate. Apparently, there’s been another fallout with members in that group, and it’s a hot mess.)

They have made a habit of taking most gyms throughout I-Town at odd hours. In many such instances, they also made a habit of targeting people at a specific hour. Since I would rather not ramble needlessly, I’ll just post a few images that has happened far too often.

So close to earning the next day’s earnings…

I mean, I get it, it’s an unwritten rule, but one that should enforce other players to earn their coins without having to go through so much strife. But, oh well.

Not even a Blissey could withstand the barrage of late-night attackers.

Then again, I’m guilty of sometimes doing this so it’s not like I’m any better. At least I don’t target the kids.

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Tue, 15 May 2018 22:26:25 +0000martinijirhttps://theinners.wordpress.com/go/uncategorized/a-peep-into-the-void/A peep into the void
I see you lizzy calling my name
Reminiscing old times

A perfect smile breaks the long silence
I wish nothing but your soul rejoice
For it is free from earthly prejudice
A liberation that lies in your body as hope

I dont want you back in this sepulchre
Where love fades the beauty of your smile
I want you to rest under the canopy of peace
Where eternal flames burn steadily as you play

Those old times fades, for new you lives
It’s a trance to those lock in the scene
For me is reality that lives in us
As raw wound waiting for its healer

I wouldn’t miss you, i wouldn’t miss you
For i see you on mirror of my heart
It breaks, it mend, we die to live
forever in garden of love
(c) Martin Ijir 2018

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Tue, 15 May 2018 14:42:35 +0000Megan Winklerhttps://femininepursuit.com/go/meditation/i-just-freaked-the-eff-out/Okay, so I’ve recently decided to start exploring the world of my spirit guides. I’ve always been able to sense things beyond our five senses and I’ve even seen a full-body apparition. Lately, I’ve been sensing a lot more from the spirit world so I figured, “Hey, I should take things into my own hands and exercise a little control over the situation.” I know – very masculine energy of me.

But, as I try to connect with my guardian angel, as suggested in the book, I’m coming up empty-handed. It’s been so strange.

So I decided that maybe I needed to go into meditation to connect with them. I pulled up my trusty Insight Timer, searched for an appropriate meditation (one that had over 1,400 views and 4.5 stars, by the way), and settled into my seat.

As a meditation teacher myself, I understand the value of safety in a meditation. This teacher did a wonderful job at helping me feel settled and safe. But about four minutes into the meditation, the teacher suggested we invite our spirit guides into our energetic field, to show us some tangible signs of their presence.

It was then that I freaked the fuck out.

Like, pulled myself out of meditation immediately, turned off the meditation and just sat there and breathed.

And then I started laughing. Okay, maybe this is why my angel has been reluctant to show him/herself. Because they know that I’m just not there yet.

I blame horror movies, honestly. I mean, it’s always a bad thing when a ghost or spirit shows up. Oddly enough, I’ve never felt threatened by a spirit – even though they’ve been waking me up at night when my boyfriend is traveling for work and I’m sleeping alone. Also, I’m very in tune with my spirit animals: a tiger being the primary guide, but also the hummingbird, hawk, wolf, and squirrel. Yes, one of my spirit animals is a squirrel…

(By the way, according to the photographer, no squirrels were harmed in the taking of this photo. The red-tailed hawk had just left the nest and didn’t really know what he was looking at!)

So I guess I’m telling you this to make you laugh. And to also serve as a reminder that sometimes things don’t happen the way we want them to or expect them to. And finally, that it’s a process, a journey, and we’re all on our own path of exploration.

For now, I’m going to keep reading and I’m going to be open to my animal guides for now. I’m sure my angels will show up in time.

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Tue, 15 May 2018 02:27:19 +0000emberalishttps://songsofember.wordpress.com/go/uncategorized/177/I think I just met Hermes Trismegistus. Here’s how I tried to wrap my brain around this very bizarre experience. Forgive my ignorance on the subject matter–this is all incredibly new to me.

My first thought: Who is Hermes Trismegistus?

Google: “Hermes Trismegistus is the purported author of the Hermetic Corpus, a series of sacred texts that are the basis of Hermeticism.”

So… what does that mean, exactly?

Okay, so… he’s a combination of these two deities. Was he a spirit, or a physical prophet guy that roamed the earth?

A few hours of research later and I’m confused as all hell. Is he a combination of Hermes, Thoth, maybe Enoch or someone else?? He’s a prophet, or a god, or a combination? He wrote a book, maybe? He’s the chosen channeler of Hermes/Thoth? Did he physically exist or did some guy decide to use him as a pen name? Perhaps my questions will be answered if I read his book, and read up on Hermeticism (which I didn’t really know existed until now).

My second thought: Can you even talk to Hermes Trismegistus?

Is he a spirit/deity/being that practitioners can summon? Do people who follow the Hermetic Tradition hang out and talk to him? Did I really just… talk to him, or am I crazy? And why did this happen now?

As you can tell, I’m treading some ambiguous, awkward territory of not knowing anything but being approached by a being whom I’ve only heard of in passing. (Though, come to think of it, I’d been hearing his name more and more often in the last couple of weeks.) I know for a fact that I need to do more research, which is what I plan on doing soon. For now, I’m just trying to write everything out.

Regardless of how accurate this experience is, or if it follows tradition, or if I’m just making all of this up in my crazy, imaginative mind (dammit, Ember, why do you daydream so often?!), I figured I’d write down this experience and share it with you all. Because… well, because it’s changed me and the way I approach magic.

(lots of UPG here. If that’s not your thing, you’ve been warned)

__________________________________________________

I had just finished watching the fourth season of “Mozart in the Jungle” on Amazon (amazing series, btw, if you’re able to watch it). There had been a presence around during the day that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. But I was restless. It felt like this energy wanted to talk, or discuss, and needed me to acknowledge it.

So I did.

I went downstairs and paced in my kitchen until the being revealed himself as the Hermes Trismegistus, beard and all. I didn’t know much about him besides the fact that he was supposedly Hermes and Thoth combined.

I’m a super visual person. To me, he appeared with a flowing beard and some round-ish glasses. Also wearing a fancy robe.

Hermes–greek God Hermes–was also there. Which was, if I’m being honest, very, very confusing. My first thought was–if they’re the same person, how can they exist in the same space? And Hermes just sort of laughed and smiled, saying that gods and spirits are more complex than my definition of what’s possible and what’s not. Because his answer was a yes and a no, but that it’s still not a contradiction. Perhaps, in the spirit realm, contradiction doesn’t exist.

It’s still something I’m trying to wrap my head around.

Trismegistus started talking to me about archetypal theory, and Jungian philosophy. Again, not something I claim to be an expert in or have a grasp on. I’d only heard about it in passing via the online blogging community. From what I understand, it’s the idea that we make our own universe, and that these beings, gods, and spirits are a part of ourselves.

This isn’t something I’d previously considered. So I told him that, in a respectful manner, and then we started debating. My mind was going a mile a minute while Trismegistus spoke. It was exciting and new and kind of dangerous, it felt. Like I was on the edge of something.

I asked him–if these deities are a part of my subconscious, how can they create such physical change in the universe? Hermes has bought me stuff before, opened up parking spaces, and just done some… crazy, wild things that I wouldn’t think are possible. If Hermes is me, then how could I affect that change?

And Trismegistus said that perhaps we humans have the power in our own to control our own universe. “The deity in question helping us is us helping ourselves.”

I asked–how can I love an archetype of mine? I physically feel and see Hermes. I love Hermes. How is that possible?

And Trismegistus said: that means you’ve fallen in love with yourself, and isn’t that thought absolutely beautiful?

At this point I turned to Hermes, who was grinning in the corner. I could feel his own excitement. But then I was thinking, and I’m worried–what if he is a part of myself? Isn’t that disrespectful to him and to the rest of the Theoi?

Hermes, I asked, what is true?

And he grinned again.

“Whatever you believe, Ember,” he said. “Regardless of who you choose to believe or what path you decide to take, I will always be there. Whether you think I am you or that I act physically outside of yourself, I will be there. It’s not my job to tell you what to think, what to believe. That is your own journey.”

Trismegistus and I talked for a while after that. We delved into the realm of magickal science, ceremonial magick, physical manifestation and teleportation. There’s an entire world out there that I never knew existed. It’s like this entirely new chapter has been opened in my life.

There’s this realization that I can combine magick and science.

There are such thing as mystics and mages, alchemists and astrologers. Magick is more than spells and moon cycles and crystals. I’ve known this, yes, but this was the first time I’ve really understood that. For a while, magick, devotion, and the worship of my deities has felt almost confining and hollow. Though I am an artistic and intuitive person, I felt like I needed something more concrete. I know I wanted to practice magick, I just couldn’t seem to find my niche.

The definition of magick and magickal workings has been too narrow for me and it’s only now when I’m finally seeing the scope of this world.

Do I think that the Theoi are all archetypes inside of me? Not exactly. Well, actually–no, I definitely don’t think that at this point in time. While Trismegistus made some good, powerful points, there are still some reasons as to why I believe the spiritual realm exists outside of myself and my reality (also, does that mean Trismegistus visiting me was my own subconscious?? ahh, I 100% need to do more research). There are still reasons why I see the gods as outside myself, and why I think Hermes in more than my subconscious (acting independently, arguing).

But there are points that I do appreciate, such as the idea that we create our own reality.

I guess I don’t really have a conclusion to this. I’ve come away with more questions that I have answers. What I can say, though, is that I’m excited to study. I’m excited to learn. I’m excited to conduct magickal experiments much like a scientist would. This type of magick, to me, feels like a path that would satisfy both the more scientific aspect of my brain and the creative, intuitive, artistic one.

This, for me, seems like a good combination between my physical, grounded self and the spiritual, intuitive being that I am. Perhaps, instead of being a witch, I am a mystic.

I will make many mistakes and stray from countless traditions. My worldview could shatter, or it could remain stable. There is no certainty in this journey ahead.

Change is inevitable, yes?

-Ember Alis-

P.S. If any of my followers has some good information, links, articles, videos, etc., they’d like to share about the subject, please share them! I’m currently on a quest to learn more–I’m buying books about Hermeticism and I’m reading a historical/scientific account of Magic throughout the ages. I’d love to learn more.

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Sun, 13 May 2018 21:03:30 +0000darrens11https://letsallbeatlawro.wordpress.com/go/uncategorized/may-mystic-result-and-17-18-final-standings/Greetings, predictors. Thus, we reach the end of yet another FPL season. And what a journey it has once again been. I’m still digesting it, and thus a more reflective update will follow this one in the near future. However, for now, I deem it important to sort out the finances!

Firstly, to May’s Mystic. This month’s winner is Obi-Wan Kenobi Nil – his second Mystic win of the season. Well done.

As for the final league standings, Markiebladeraybould held on comfortably to claim his first FPL title. Many congratulations! The battle for 2nd and 3rd was much closer but Bob ended up pipping GrahamJ by just sixty points. The prize money, to confirm is as follows: